Clamp connector

ABSTRACT

A wire clamp connector for clamping two or more wires together in substantially parallel relation consisting of first and second interlocked jaw members with selected facing surfaces thereof serrated to prevent relative movement therebetween.

United States Patent [191 Becker Apr. 9, 1974 I CLAMP CONNECTOR [75] Inventor: Stephen P. Becker, Poughkeepsie,

[73] Assignee: Fargo Mfg. Company, Inc.,

Poughkeepsie, NY.

24/263 P], 20 TT; 339/119, 125, 225, 231, 241, 244, 248, 249, 263, 264, 265, 266, 269,

1,207,401 12/1916 Heller 24/125 L 1,699,211 1/1929 Rose 339/246 X 2,662,261 12/1953 Mikoski 24/263 PJ X 1,937,922 12/1933 Steinharter et a1. 339/125 R FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 598,094 9/1959 Italy 339/265 R m yfimm erilo s H- 99 1 Assistant Examiner- Lawrence C. Staab 5 7 ABSTRACT A wire clamp connector for clamping two or more wires together in substantially parallel relation consisting of first and second interlocked jaw members with selected facing surfaces thereof serrated to prevent 3 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures [56] References Cited relative movement therebetween.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,431,546 3/1969 Averill 339/269 @A 11111 llllllllll 111111111111 "ATENTED APR 9 I974 l'llll Illllllilllllillillilll III CLAMP CONNECTOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In electrical work clamp connectors are used to clamp wires together into substantially parallel relationship. It is desirable that a device of this type be small, durable, efficient and capable of easy attachment to the wires without the use of special tools.

Clamp connectors of this type must provide a positive gripping action on a wire. Uniform pressure is important and it is also important that there is no side strain or relative transverse movement of the clamp parts.

Additionally, it is important that the clamp be capable of mass, economical production since many are used. A wire clamp of wide popularity is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,932,009. The clamp shown therein comprises a movable member and a stationary member held together by a bolt. The stationary member is formed with a projecting base having a guideway extending through its base while the movable member has a tongue adapted to slide within the guideway. This construction maintains the parts in proper relative position and insures the proper joining of the jaws. This prior art construction, while useful and extremely successful over the years, provided a clamp which was expensive to manufacture. It became desirable in many installations to have a less expensive clamp. Attempts at this, however, prior to this invention, were not successful since high quality performance had to be maintained. The present invention provides an economical clamp connector which due to its design and the inventive features thereof is capable of high quality performance while being economical to manufacture.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A wire clamp connector including in combination a first jaw member provided by first upper and lower walls with parallel facing surfaces joined in spaced relation by a first rear wall, a first gripping surface formed at the extremity of said first upper wall, a second jaw member provided by second upper and lower walls with parallel facing surfaces joined in spaced relation by a second rear wall, a second gripping surface formed on said second rear wall, the first upper and lower walls being spaced to receive the second lower wall therebetween and the second upper and lower walls spaced to receive the first upper wall therebetween, screw means connecting the jaw members, the screw means enabling the jaw members to be shifted relative to one another to move the first and second gripping surfaces toward and away from one another and serrations provided on abutting surfaces of the members to prevent relative transverse movement thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a clamp connector constructed in accordance with the teachings of this invention with portions of two wires to be clamped together illustrated; and

FIG. 2 is a partially sectional longitudinal view of the clamp connector shown in FIG. 1 in fully assembled condition with the wires shown in clamped position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A wire clamp connector constructed in accordance with the teachings of this invention for connecting wires 10 and 12 mechanically and electrically as shown in the FIGS. Wire 10 is illustrated as a stranded wire while wire 12 is shown solid. The clamp is capable of mechanically and electrically connecting both solid and stranded wire. The wire shown in the Figs. has had the insulation thereof removed so that when the two wires are held adjacent an electrical connection is achieved. The clamp has a first jaw member 14 provided with substantially rectangular upper and lower walls 16 and 18 respectively having facing surfaces 16a and 18a. The upper and lower walls are joined with surfaces 16a and 18a in spaced, substantially parallel relationship by rear wall 20. A gripping portion 22 with a concave gripping surface 22a is formed at the extremity of upper wall 16. The rear wall 20 has a hole 24 formed therein which extends from its outer surface 20a through rear wall 20 to the space between the upper and lower walls 16 and 18. The surfaces 18a and 20a are provided with serrations for a purpose which will be explained below.

A second jaw member 26 is provided having upper and lower walls 28 and 30 respectively which have facing surfaces 28a and 30a. The upper and lower walls of jaw member 26are maintained with surfaces 28a and 30a in spaced, substantially parallel relationship by rear wall 32. A second concave gripping surface 32a is formed on rear wall 32. The lower jaw 30 of jaw member 26 is provided with a threaded insert 34 opening at surface 30b and a bottom or lower serrated surface 30c.

Gripping surfaces 22a and 32a are shown in the Figsas concave. However, it should be understood that these surfaces can contain V-grooves, insulation piercing teeth or other configurations or combinations thereof.

The upper and lower walls 16 and 18 ofjaw member 14 are spaced to receive lower wall 30 of jaw member 26 therebetween within insert 34 aligned with hole 24 and the upper and lower walls 28 and 30 of jaw member 26 are spaced to receive upper wall 16 of jaw member 14 therebetween.

A screw 36 is provided to connect the jaw members. This screw has a headed portion 36a and a body portion 36b. A bracket 38 is also shown in the Figs. between head 36a and surface 20a. This bracket is an aid to the assembly and not necessary in all installations.

In use, the wires to be joined such as wires 10 and 12 are stripped of insulation at the zone of joining and placed between the upper and lower jaws 28 and 30 of jaw member 26. A portion of the body 36b of the screw is received within insert 34 with bracket 38 in position. Turning of screw 36 shifts the jaw members 14 and 26 relative to one another moving the gripping surfaces 22a and 32a toward one another thereby clamping wires 10 and 12 between the gripping surfaces in a firm mechanical and electrical connection. The facing surfaces 28a and 30a of jaw member 26 prevent the wires from moving away from the gripping surfaces 22a and 32a.

As discussed above, it is important in a connector that the parts once placed in position remain so. The serrations on surfaces 18a and 300 insure that when the connector is tightened to mesh there will be no loosening from inherent thrust. It is noted that the serrations on these two surfaces are in the same direction so that interlocking teeth are provided. This self locking feature is particularly valuable when soft conductors or wires are involved since these are the type likely to flow or otherwise reduce diameter while in compression. While tightening a neutral point is reached, pressure becomes fixed and the conductors take a set. The connector then locks and the meshed serrations prevent a general loosening of the connector effecting compression between conductors themselves. In certain installations the serrations may be provided on a single surface 18a or 300 rather than on both with the remaining abutting surface not having these serrations thereon. This might be useful with particularly hard conductors or wires since the serrations may cause friction while tightening and retard compression if the serrations are provided on both surfaces.

The serrations 20a formed on the back of rear wall 20 combine with bracket 38 to maintain the screw 36 in position. Additionally the serrations 20a prevent rotation when the connector is used on a panel. The panel would replace the bracket 38 shown in the Figs.

The connector is a side-opening connector providing complete freedom from the side in order to embrace run or through wires and can accommodate an assortment of wire sizes. It can be easily mounted or disassembled by the insertion of the bolt or screw 36 and it is inexpensive since it is made from simple interlocking components which can be extruded and demands a minimum amount of machining.

Thus, there is provided a quick acting, side-opening, flexible, easily-mounted, self-locking, nonrotating, inexpensive wire connector.

What is claimed is:

1. A wire clamp connector including in combination a first jaw member provided by first upper and lower walls with facing surfaces joined in spaced relation by a first rear wall, a first gripping surface formed at the extremity of said first upper wall, a second jaw member provided by second upper and lower walls with facing surfaces joined in spaced relation by a second rear wall, a second gripping surface formed on said second rear wall, said first upper and lower walls spaced to receive said second lower wall therebetween and said second upper and lower walls spaced to receive said first upper wall therebetween, screw means connecting said jaw members, said first and second gripping surfaces having centers lying in a plane offset from the axis of said screw means, said screw means enabling said jaw members to be shifted relative to one another to move said first and second gripping surfaces toward and away from one another and serrations provided at abutting surfaces of said members to prevent relative movement thereof, said serrations being on the top surface of said first lower wall and the bottom surface of said second lower wall and extending generally perpendicular to the axis of said screw means.

2. A clamp connector in accordance with claim 1 in which the serrations on the top surface of said first lower wall and the bottom surface of said second lower wall are in the same direction to provide interlocking teeth in the assembled condition of said connector.

3. A clamp connector in accordance with claim 1 in which said screw means includes a threaded insert in said second jaw member and a hole in said first jaw member aligned therewith, a screw, a body of said screw passing through said hole and engaging the threads of said threaded insert, and a head of said screw enlarged to a dimension greater than said hole. 

1. A wire clamp connector including in combination a first jaw member provided by first upper and lower walls with facing surfaces joined in spaced relation by a first rear wall, a first gripping surface formed at the extremity of said first upper wall, a second jaw member provided by second upper and lower walls with facing surfaces joined in spaced relation by a second rear wall, a second gripping surface formed on said second rear wall, said first upper and lower walls spaced to receive said second lower wall therebetween and said second upper and lower walls spaced to receive said first upper wall therebetween, screw means connecting said jaw members, said first and second gripping surfaces having centers lying in a plane offset from the axis of said screw means, said screw means enabling said jaw members to be shifted relative to one another to move said first and second gripping surfaces toward and away from one another and serrations provided at abutting surfaces of said members to prevent relative movement thereof, said serrations being on the top surface of said first lower wall and the bottom surface of said second lower wall and extending generally perpendicular to the axis of said screw means.
 2. A clamp connector in accordance with claim 1 in which the serrations on the top surface of said first lower wall and the bottom surface of said second lower wall are in the same direction to provide interlocking teeth in the assembled condition of said connector.
 3. A clamp connector in accordance with claim 1 in which said screw means includes a threaded insert in said second jaw member and a hole in said first jaw member aligned therewith, a screw, a body of said screw passing through said hole and engaging the threads of said threaded insert, and a head of said screw enlarged to a dimension greater than said hole. 